Blood Lord
by Kaede Ravensdale
Summary: 2000 years since they first appeared. 750 years since the war had begun. 5 years since the human empire had fallen completely and now they, the scouts, were all that were left to fight against the Vampires on man's behalf. Ereri. Character Death warning for later.
1. Chapter 1

Blood Lord

Chapter 1

2000 years since the Vampires had first appeared. 1500 years since the walls had been erected. 1000 years since they were brought down on the false promise of a peace treaty. 800 years since the pale bastards had turned on them. 750 years since the war had begun. 5 years since the Human Empire had fallen completely. And now they, the scouts, were all that were left of a once proud and powerful race. Barely 400 people strong and dropping fast in number, freedom fighters with the pure white wings of heaven emblazoned on their backs. Fighting what many of their members had begun to consider a hopeless battle.

"…Don't know why it is that we're doing this anymore." His ears were burning with the sound of the blasphemous words; stopping cold in his tracks, he turned his grey eyes on the back of the offender's head and proceeded to begin the process of burning holes in it. "Erwin is insane, resisting them like this! And what do we have to show for it? Our empire long lost! Our comrades drained dry if not just left to rot! Sure, we'll be forced to work for them if we surrender but isn't that better than living like this?"

Grabbing hold of the back of his hood, Levi spun him around and slammed him into the trunk of the nearest tree effectively pinning him were he stood beneath the cold fire of his steely gaze. "Better than living like this, is that what I heard you say? You're a real shit headed fool, now aren't you? You won't be 'working' for them, as if you're being paid. As if it's some choice and you're given the option! You'll be _enslaved! _Beatings every damn day of your miserable life, regardless of if you do right by what you're told or try and shake off their hold on you. Forcibly fed upon until you're within an inch of death, and that's only if you're lucky! Treated worse than dogs and bred like cattle, used until you can give no more and then, when you're broken and worthless, disposed of in a gutter somewhere like so much trash!" Reaching up beneath the cinch of his cloak, Levi swiftly undid the buttons of his shirt to reveal the pale skin marred by countless gashes; thin, silvery flat slash marks on his arms, raised lash marks against his ribs, reddish in hue and the width of his thumb, crescent shaped bluish bite marks braceletting his throat. "What do these scars tell you about a life of subservience to those monsters? If Erwin hadn't saved me, I'd be long dead by now." Replacing his clothing in its usual state, he allowed a sadistic little smirk to touch his lips and transform his usual expressionless mask into something blood chilling. "But if you really feel that you'll fare better than I did, by all means be my guest. Turn yourself over to them; let's just see how long you last."

Horror was all that was portrayed on the man's face; he'd gone very pale and begun to shake like a leaf taken in the autumn wind. "N-No Sir! I misspoke L-Lance Corporal Sir!"

"Tch! Coward!" With a sound of disgust, he pushed the man away from him as if he carried some fatal disease and continued walking. It wasn't that much later that he'd arrived at Erwin's tent; like all the others in their camp it was a simple affair of lumber and sewn together animal hides, the only thing to distinguish it was its slightly larger size; just big enough to house both sleeping quarters and a war room. Knowing that he was expected, he didn't bother to call out before pushing the flap aside and making his way inside.

"…Almost on top of us, Erwin!" Hanji was saying as he entered unnoticed into the room, clearly in the middle of some manner of petition that had been going on for a considerable while before he'd arrived. "If we meet with the forces of the Blood Council directly, its members among them, we'll likely be wiped out! We should really wait on this."

"Wait? And pass up a chance that will likely never occur again? A chance to have Council members Braun, Leonhart Fubar and Yeager together in a place where we can get to them?" The Commander shook his head. "Our organization is no stranger to taking risk; simply existing as we are is an offense for which we can be killed. Taking out the members of the Blood Council would mean to total collapse of their society. We're not going to blink on this!"

"Don't allow the target to blind you to the risks; are those not your own words Erwin?" she demanded, brown eyes wide with urgency as he hands flapped about her head like rogue birds which was really nothing new. "They're trying to lure us onto open ground where our 3DM Gear would be useless! Without it we're grounded, all but sitting ducks! I want them defeated as much as you do, but the price-."

"No!" And that was how Levi announced his arrival, interrupting her point and shooting it down in one go and making a point of kicking the leg of her chair as he went to sit down in his own. "As Erwin said, the risk is worth it. You know full well that there is nothing I value more than Human life and that I don't take lightly the idea of throwing it away, but as long as we succeed in destroying the Council bastards all 400 of us can die in the effort and I'll say it's more than worth it. For me, death is but a stiffen price to pay to have those bastards erased from this world!"

"Levi, how can you rightfully think that? With all that you've been through at their hands I understand your anger, but are you really so vengeful as to let the past cloud your judgment so completely?" the slight twitching on one of the muscles in his jaw would have told anyone of sense to drop the subject at hand immediately and run as fast as their legs could carry them, but evidently Hanji Zoe wasn't possessed of such filters and kept right on going. "What about your squad? Eld? Gunther? Oluo? Petra is only 25."

"I'd rather have all of them dead along with me than suffer what they will should we fail!" he snarled, voice like caustic acid. "And if we don't cease upon this chance while it's set before us the likely hood that we will ultimately fail in our goals increases to near 100%. Many of our men are losing faith in our cause already; if humanity is to have any chance of survival, this war must end and soon!" Without giving her a chance to rebut his statement, he turned to the Commander. "You have a plan?"

"I do, but it will require a very dangerous first step. We'll need gun powder and diesel fuel to operate our cannons. More fuel than we have left to us in our supply depots." Erwin told him grimly. "Levi, you truly are Humanity's strongest soldier. Your team our most experienced fighters. As such your squad are the only ones that I could ever trust to undertake this mission."

"We'll get it done, Erwin. Don't worry about that." He replied as he rose to his feet. "How long?"

"Three days."

"Make it two," with that Levi left the tent, moving swiftly through the camp in search of the other members of his squad; he found them without too much effort doing what they normally did, the three men gambling with what little coin they hand against each other in a game of cards as Petra, reading nearby, shot them the occasional dirty glance. "Oi, break time is over! We're moving out!" He barked gruffly, drawing their attention. As was the usual, his team dropped everything at his word and were immediately on their feet.

"We're moving camp again, Sir?" Petra inquired, her amber eyes alight with their usual curiosity. "Has the Commander made the decision to circumvent the threat after all?"

We aren't moving camp Ral, and we certainly aren't circumventing anything." He replied. "We've been given a highly important mission; Erwin intends to use the cannons to shoot those bastards out of the air since our 3DM gear will be worth jack shit on open ground. We need gas and gunpowder; a lot of it."

"But the only place where we'll stand a chance of getting enough of both of those materials is Night Haven." Eld pointed out starkly. "That's insane; it may not be the capital, but it's still a Vampire stronghold and a port town.. How would we get in, let alone get out with the supplies, when it's likely to be heavily guarded."

"Sure to be sounds more like it," Gunther sighed. "But by this point we ought to be used to being send on 'mission impossible'; we're only the best because of our problem solving skills."

"The Lance Corporal already has a plan, I'm sure." Petra said matter-of-factly, looking up at him with an expectant smile on her face. The youngest member of his team, and yet often he felt as if she was the one that had the greatest faith in him.

"Yeah, I do." He grunted, "improvise," with that he turned his back on them and began to walk away. "Let's go and get the horses; we can't afford to waste any more time."

He'd expected the journey to Night Haven to be only a few hours, but after having to change their route to circumvent activity on the road the time went slightly over what he had anticipated and so by the time they were still five miles from the city by the time late evening rolled around not that the day helped them much anyway; a storm had rolled in from the North, and its sheeting rains and thick clouds had blotted out the sun. What little light there was had all but disappeared and they were running late when Petra suddenly pulled her horse to an abrupt halt.

"Uh, Lance Corporal Levi?"

Hearing the nervous tone in her voice, Levi's protective instincts over his team-his family-immediately went red hot and he stopped as well. "What's wrong, Petra?"

"T-There's…a Vampire over there. Tied to a pole." Following her gaze in the indicated direction, he felt his think black eyebrows rise as he caught sight of it through the sparse overgrowth of the country road side; a large wooden stockade pole had been driven deep into the ground and there was, indeed, a Vampire shackled to it by the wrist. A young male-were he human Levi would have placed him at around 15, though with a Vampire appearances never told anything close to the truth-all but hanging from the pole from bent knee in exhaustion. His eyes were closed, long lashes casting delicate shadows on his face; boyishly handsome still rimmed with faint traces of baby fat and the promise of high cheek bones leaving the impression that, had he been allowed to age further, he'd have one day grown into quite the attractive young adult but that would never come to pass now. His hair, shoulder length and the deep brown of melted chocolate, was-much like the rest of him-soaked through, the uneven knife cut bangs pasted to his fore head and the simple clothing clinging to his well-toned body.

"The hell is this?" Levi muttered, pulling his horse closer through the trees and dismounting. Though visibly nervous, the others followed. Doubtless it heard them coming, but the tethered Vampire didn't so much as stir; the only thing to bely it to still be living was the slight twitch of the tip of its nose. "Oi, Fang Face! You alive?"

A momentary pause before the thin, pale lips curled into a slight smile. He raised his head then-olive toned skin sparkling with rain water beneath the light of the dying sun-and opened his eyes. Enormous, expressive orbs that were the most enchanting hue he'd ever seen; a cross between blue and green the likes of which mortals such as him didn't even have a name for. Then, he spoke; his voice was deeper than a child's but only barely, leading him to think himself correct in his assumption that his human life had ended somewhere in his mid-teens. "Have you come to mock me, Human? I can tell by your scent-the scent of battle and pride-that you are no slave. So that makes you a scout."

Levi's eyes narrowed. "So you know of us, parasite?

A mirthless chuckle. "Of course I know of you; your kind are a house hold terror, something parents use to keep the young bloods indoors beneath their watchful eye. The 'Boogey man' of sorts." His expression screwed up into something unintelligible but notably unpleasant, then allowed his chin to fall to his chest as his strength faltered once again. "Torture me if you so please, for I am bound and as such cannot raise a hand against you; a death at your hands, no matter how brutal, would be preferable to me over a slow burning death beneath the rays of the sun."

So it was an execution they had stumbled on. "What, exactly, have you done to be sentenced by your fellows to death?"

"What did I do? I freed some slaves- slaves that belonged to another Coven, as mine does not keep them-foolishly thinking that my former rank, and blood line, would save me. I was wrong."

Time was ticking and they were sitting here wasting it, but Night Haven was so well guarded. The help of a Vampire would prove invaluable in their efforts; they may well be disgusting soul-less bloodthirsty monsters, but if there was one thing about them that he knew to be true was that they never left a debt unpaid. And he could always kill him later. "You don't want to die, I take it?"

"Who does?" the Vampire snapped. "You're wasting time, mortal. I assume that you have somewhere important to be?"

"I don't waste time, Leech." He growled back. "What would your life be worth should we save it? Enough to get us what we need from Nighthaven?"

At this the youth snorted. "Paltry aid is no repayment in the scope of what I would owe to you mortal." His eyes were raised to meet his again, this time with a fire that was almost predatory on fire within them. "The real question is what my debt would be worth to you."

More than enough, it would seem. "Hold still; I'll have you free in a moment." Drawing the combat knife from his weapon belt and moving around behind the pole, he stabbed the blade viscously into the keyhole until he broke the lock. He hated Vampires with every fiber of his being and the thought of saving one was abhorrent to him but desperate times called for desperate measures. The young man fell gratefully to his knees with a sigh of relief, pulling the shackles off then rubbing the chaffed-red skin on his wrists that had already begun to heal.

"Well, out with it mortal. What can I do to serve the Scouts?" A pause. "Also, I think it better for our…working relationship that we call each other by a name other than 'Leech' and 'Mortal'. I'm Eren."

"…Levi," he replied through gritted teeth. "My squad; Eld, Oluo, Gunther and Petra. We need to get into Nighthaven and procure some…supplies."

"Supplies?"

"Gunpowder and Diesel fuel. You don't need to know why…Eren." Using the bastard's name left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I'll grant you to meager favor for which you ask, but this will not be my repayment." Selecting a ring from his finger-golden band inset with a blood stone-and held it out to him with an air of almost commanding abruptness. "Put this on; wear it always. Should you ever need it-truly need it-myself or those under me will rise to your aid with all in our power. Once for once."

"…Fair enough." Though reluctant to accept the ring for fear it may be cursed, Levi slipped it on his finger under the brunet's enthralling gaze; it shouldn't have surprised him that-despite being worn for what was doubtlessly the span of many years-the metal ring was cold as ice.

"Damn this cloud cover to hell; sure it may have saved my ass but now there's no moon tonight. No moon means no moonlight and no means to regain my normal strength. Unless…" searching for a moment in his pockets, he pulled out a small red pill. "Thank God; they didn't find them all!"

"Find what?" still wary of their newest companion, Petra's usual curiosity never failed to fall through.

"Fake blood pills; a member of my coven makes them for us so we don't have to break out sobriety when the moon is dark." Swallowing the little red pill, he got shakily to his feet. "It's an emergency fix, for times of need. I'll end up sick later, but there's no helping it. And I won't be able to help if fighting breaks out, but keeping up won't be an issue."

"Good; we weren't about to delay any longer on your account." Levi snapped as he resituated himself in the saddle. "Come on." The soft rustling of wings from behind him as Eren lifted into the air to soar in almost lazy circles about them as they continued on their way until the city walls came into view; guards could be seen patrolling both the tops of the walls and the foot of them, and the enormous gate was closed.

"They know that a battle is soon to break out; they've prepared for an attempted break in. It isn't usual that the gates are locked at night, and they don't normally have more than one or two guards on duty at a time. And on top of that they're normally shit faced drunk by this point. You won't be getting in on the ground, and if you use your gear they'll see you." Eren's landing was surprisingly silent, the ink black webbing of his wings stretched taught and as see-through as black glass. "I can only carry one of you; whose the most trusting of me, or at least the most willing to risk I'll turn on you once you're away from your friends?"

"You're taking me, brat. No negotiation." Levi hissed at him, quickly stepping out in front of their team. "Let's get to it; we're expected back in the morning." He had to supress a shudder at the strong, frozen arms that slithered like serpents under his own and the toned chest pressing into his back. "Drop me, and I swear to God-!"

"You'll be fine, don't worry." Flying was similar to what it felt like to use the 3DM gear, and yet completely different. There were no cables to become cut or tangled. No supply of gas to worry over running out. Just the frozen wind in his face and the powerful down-strokes of Eren's wings. It was a wholly weightless feeling, the speed of it far exceeding anything his gear could ever hope to achieve; the pair rocketed over the wall like a mortar shell, leaving the vigilant guards completely unawares, and were on the cobbled streets of the city on the other side a few seconds later. "Different than that clunky gear of yours, isn't it." The experience had certainly served to show him not to underestimate the fine tuning abilities of his foe in flight they simply couldn't rival. It made their chances of success seem even slimmer still. "Let's go; like you said we're on a schedule, and I'm about as safe here as you are at the moment." Right, death row fugitive. How had he forgotten. Leading him down the street with the confidence of knowing its streets like the back of his hands-which he likely did-he stopped in front of a house, picked a pebble up off the roadway and chucked it at the upstairs window.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, brat?" he demanded, horrified. This was far from flying below the radar. Eren just looked over his right shoulder and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch little soldier boy, he's a friend." Assurance made just as a blonde vampire in a guard's uniform stepped out onto the porch; from the look of him, Eren's knock had come just when he was half passed out drunk on the floor. "This is Hannes, captain of the Guard here in Nighthaven." Turning his attention to the other he added "I hope I didn't…interrupt."

The man blinked at him in shock. "Eren, you're…but they…Someone…did Mikasa-?"

"No, Levi saved me." Clearly he had a great deal of experience putting the slurred and broken sentences of the very drunk into something legible.

"Who's Levi?"

"He's Levi," the gesture with which he motioned to him was rather more careless than the Corporal would have liked. "He's one of the Scouts; here because he needs diesel fuel and gun powder. I was wondering if, for two cases of Eventide Blanc-the really good stuff-you'd give us the keys to the store house?"

As the Vampire in front of them actually seemed to be considering this offer Levi felt safe in confidently assuming two things about him; one, he was likely sober only rarely and two, that alcohol was worth a great deal to him. "What do you plan to do with the keys?"

"Skim a little off the top; I promise they won't notice."

"You're gonna be the death of me, Eren!"

"Three cases."

"Five."

At this, Eren's lips quirked upwards into the same smile he'd seen on his face earlier that night. "Six, if you lend us a cart and asleep on the job when we leave, ja?"

"Deal." The keys glinted faintly and jingled a bit as Eren snagged them from the air. "I expect those cases by the end of the next pay cycle; I don't care what you have to do to get them here."

"When have I ever failed to deliver?" He grinned at Levi, flashing canine teeth that were far too long. "The cart is around back; we'll attach it to your horse once we get outside the walls, but I'll pull it for now." He was left to scramble after as the other vanished around the corner. "We have a twenty minute window once Hannes calls them off; any longer and we risk someone outside my circle noticing something is off. The store tower is five minutes away; ten minutes round trip. That gives us ten minutes to get what we need and get the hell out of dodge before the window closes on us and I'd rather not have to trade any more hand-made wine." Eren was babbling on at light speed as he tugged the enormous cart behind him, not seeming to care that Levi was in the back and only half listening. "Here; the third key is the one that opens the lock." He was left to locate said key and said lock in the darkness as Eren detached himself from the cart. Inside, it was dim and dusty and smelled of mildew and old wine. Eren made a beeline for the large wooden hogsheads standing in the far corner and took a moment to investigate the scent before nodding. "Black gunpowder; 100 grade and fine. Best stuff there is. Let's take it all." To a human, even one as physically fit as Levi, lifting one of the twenty pound barrels was exceedingly difficult but Eren lifted them as if they were empty cardboard boxes and by the time he'd managed to roll his into the cart his companion had finished loading up the rest and moved on to search for the fuel. "How many of these do you think you'll need?" he asked, holding up a gallon container made of bright red plastic. "10? 20?"

"I'd say around 15." With both working together it only took a few minutes to get it all loaded up. Levi sat in the cart on top of the gunpowder as Eren dragged it through the streets at the speed of a race horse. All together it was a bumpy ride and he was glad, to say the least, once they were through the gate and back with the others.

"I'd say my end has been carried through quite well," the brunet purred from his place seated on the ground. He actually looked…happy. Like a child who had pulled off the caper of thieving from the cookie jar without his parents knowing. "But, though I would love to run with you guys a while more seeing how much fun I had, I should be getting back." Rising to his feet, he sighed. "I have to move my Coven somewhere safe before sunrise, before they come for them."

"Hold up, brat." Levi growled, stopping him in his tracks. "You never did tell us what your last name was." To be entirely fair he hadn't offered up his own surname either, but something about the Vampire's earlier words and actions didn't sit right with him especially the bit about expecting his rank to save him.

"My last name?" he repeated, the innocence replaced by a look that could only be described as impish. "My last name is Yeager." And, just like that, he vanished into the dark of the night.

"You certainly delivered," Hanji chirped, back to her usual bright and over excitable self despite her prior worries over what the night would hold. "10 gigantic barrels of black gunpowder. 15 canisters of diesel fuel; more than enough on both ends. But how did you get all of this? How did you get it out? I want stories Levi!"

All because a member of the Blood Council played them like a well tuned violin, not that he'd ever breathe a word of that and he'd instructed his team to do the same. "Their guard were asleep on the job; we used our gear to scale the walls and broke into the supply tower."

"Well, that's nowhere near as exciting as I expected." She pouted.

"This is a war-real life-not an adventure novel. Lives are at stake here, so please focus."

"Sorry Levi, you know I get away from myself sometimes."

_A hell of a lot more often than sometimes. _He thought in annoyance with a thin sigh. "How many hours until D-Time?"

"Two."

"And how long until the cannons are ready and in place?"

"Close to two; a little less."

Of course the schedule had to be that tight even while they were ahead of it. He grimaced. "Let's not waste any more time then. There's far too much to do and far too little time."

Mixing the gun powder and diesel together is just the right order to produce the flaming mortars was a hazardous process to say the least and often involved more than one explosion over the duration of things, luckily only one cadet came out slightly singed and smoking. With the most hazardous part of the priming behind them, the attached the enormous and rarely used iron camera to the work horses and began the process of dragging them onto the battle field. They reached the forest's edge with just a handful of minutes to spare before the protection of the day's last rays vanished completely; Levi perched in a tree as the flurry of last minute preparation went on beneath him. Far off, he could see them; dark, cloaked shapes slithering about in the ever lengthening shadows. He focused himself looking for him, for any trace of his dark hair or those unforgettable eyes. Half because he wanted a chance to further demonize the bastard that had so completely snowed them, because he wanted a charge to rectify his mistake made in freeing him. And, if he were to be completely honest with himself, half because he really did want to see him again. But there was no trace of Eren on the other side, and he supposed that he hadn't really expected him to be. After all, the other council members had turned on him. Still, it came as a disappointment to Levi for reasons that he didn't fully understand. Looking down at the ring on his finger and seeing the heart blood red stone flash in the low light he sighed. Some small, morbid part of him was tempted to waste his favor to satisfy the obsession he'd developed without meaning to or even realizing he had. And all because of the spell of those damnable eyes! He highly doubted that he'd come himself anyway; so much for that plan. Descending from the tree as darkness fully fell, he was quick to retrieve his horse and take his place on Erwin's right.

"Are you alright, Levi?" once more disturbed from his thoughts, he looked up into Erwin's blue eyes and found a mild concern there.

"I'm fine, eyebrows! Why the hell would you even ask me that?"

"You've been quieter than normal since you returned, and your entire squad is talking in circles." His eyes traveled to the hand resting on the reigns of the black mare he rode; the hand baring the ring. "It wouldn't have anything to do with that ring, would it? I've never seen you wearing it before."

"Nothing happened, Erwin. I did what I had to to get what we needed, and that is all." Had it been any other situation he had no doubt the blonde would have continued his interrogation, and the questions would likely resume in a few hour's time, but for now they had a war to win. And the enemy was already advancing on them, scores of red-eyed dark shapes swarming across the ground and clouding the sky. "Arm the cannons!" The heavy clanks of the tar-wrapped iron shod being dropped into the muzzles. "Fire!" Blinding light and an earth shattering boom as the flaming orbs went rocketing through the air; nothing compared to the satisfaction of watching the winged bastards go down in flames like shot birds. "Keep firing! Ground forces, advance!" The thundering of hooves joined the cacophony of battle as the mounted fighters advanced on their attackers, the Wings of Heaven flying against the dark green cloaks they wore as they rapidly gained ground. The shrieks and screeches of felled Vampires, the sticky sensation of their lukewarm blood landing on his face and arms and clothing, the smell of it and the feeling of his blades rending into flesh was all too familiar; the sanctuary that he found for himself only in war. Sometimes it lead him to wonder just what it was that he would do once they were all gone. He hated them. Hated them with every fiber of his being. Yet, at the same time, he knew deep down that without them he was nothing, just as a wolf was nothing without a deer. For it was nature's way that Hunters needed the Prey, and Prey needed the Hunters.

It was the concussive shock of the explosion-the flare of fire that left him momentarily blind and burned his skin-and the senstation of being lifted from his saddle and slammed into the ground that brought him back to reality to find his horse lying dead beside him; the cannons that spelled their safety could just as easily spell doom to the unlucky with the prospect of friendly fire. The beast had taken the brunt of the stray shot, but unfortunately for him that wasn't saying much. The left side of his body was badly burned, the skin dripping like candle wax; little bits of stone and iron had been driven deep into his flesh. He tried to stand and felt more than heard his shattered spine shift painfully. The cannon fire continued to echo around him, heard like distant thunder through water. Blood trickled from his ears, his ear drums popped by the blast. And then she was next to him, her amber eyes filled with tears; the others were with her, blades drawn. He could just barely see them-and the Vampires that had surrounded them like a pack of feral dogs-through the black stain that had begun to spread across his damaged vision. 'Run' he wanted to scream at them. 'Get out of here!' but all that came out when he opened his mouth was blood, and as he lost consciousness he knew; the fate that lay before them now was one far worse than death could ever be. 


	2. Chapter 2

Just within sight of the battle field, out of the range of the cannon fire, was a large stone building and it was here that, bound in chains, they were taken before the Council. The enormous room was dim, lit only by a few candles and occupied by three large matching chairs; the remains of a fourth lay destroyed and smoldering in the hearth. Three Vampires, the remaining Council members, were the only other occupants of the room. Their gazes were cold and merciless, for the most part ignoring the others as they regarded Levi's unconscious and badly wounded form as if he were an insect crawling around on their floor.

"Just another soldier, and half dead too by the look of him!" The blonde male growled. "What the hell are they bothering to drag this gutter trash in here for?"

"Don't tell me that you don't recognize him, Reiner." The woman hissed coldly, crouching down beside him and yanking his head around by the hair to get a better look at his face. "His face has been destroyed, but it still ought to be obvious who he is." Releasing him, she stepped away. "Levi Ackerman; Humanity's strongest soldier and our biggest headache. An escaped slave who, under Erwin Smith, took up arms against us with a blood lust rivaling our own. And now we finally have him back at our mercy."

"It's equally obvious that he needs medical attention, Annie," the black haired one noted softly. "He'll die without it."

"I thought that burning Yeager to death under the sun would put an end to this crap; little did I know he'd infected you with his abolitionist bullshit, Bertold!"

"He hasn't," he countered calmly. "My only point in suggesting getting him care is that, seeing as we're planning to make an example of him, we need him alive do we not?"

"Not neccesarilly." Annie snapped. "An example can easily still be made from a corpse. We can drop his body on his fellows, or perhaps hang it from a tree in their precious forest. Maybe we could mount his head on a spike outside the capital, and send his heart to his 'commander' in a box! If all else fails, there's four more of which we can make an example besides him."

"But that would be a real loss," Reiner pointed out. "The best slaves come from broken soldiers."

"He has a point in that," Bertold said. "Little can be done to salvage this one, that's true-I doubt even Yeager's magister could help him now-but the others will be worth far too much on the market to throw away just to make a terror point."

"Then we'll just have to expedite the process while he's still alive, now won't we."

"I suppose." Turning his brown eyes on the guards, he said "the cart is waiting outside to take them to the capital. Leave them together, for now, but be sure that they're disarmed. Strip search them if you have to." More dragging despite relative compliance, brutal searching and tearing of their already tattered and bloodied clothing. Petra didn't doubt that, had the situation been different, every one of them would be biting and clawing to get away but a sentiment-unspoken-had been made between them to take what came for the Lance Corporal's sake. Their cooperation was rewarded with freedom from the metal shackles once within the confines of the horse drawn jail cart, and not a single one of them wasted any time in rushing to his side. Levi lay limp in the tangled pile of limbs into which he'd been so carelessly thrown, unmoving.

"Is he even still alive?" Eld asked softly. Petra hesitated for a moment before reaching out to roll him onto his back; the remains of his clothing stuck to the singed black and bloody flesh of the burns that had left him all but unrecognizable along with a thick layer of dirt. Puss and clear fluid was leaking out of it, and the danger of infection was very real if something wasn't done to clean them soon. What remained of his skin was covered in cuts and blue black bruises, and though he'd lost quite a lot of blood he was still warm. "Yes, he's alive." Though for how much longer she couldn't be sure. Through some miracle-or, perhaps, some magic-the ring was still on his finger. She pried it loose as gently as she could. "You said that you would come when he needed you; well, he needs you now. We all do." Hoping against anything rational she looked up through the bars at the star-studded night in hopes of catching a glimpse of a winged figure swooping down to save them, but the sky was empty.

"We're not going to find any help from him, Petra." Oluo hissed, eyes narrowing at the mere thought of the young man who'd tricked them so completely. He had, indeed, seemed so innocent and looked so like a child that it was all too easy for them to believe the act that he'd put on. They never would have guessed that they were in the company of one of their greatest enemies, a member of the Blood Council, the entire time. And the reason that he had so willingly-happily, even-helped them was starkly clear; the elimination of the rest of the Council, his now political enemies, had been on the table. They were, in the end, just another set of simple pawns in a noble's game of back stabbing. "Get it out of your head."

"But he said that they always honor their debts; no one would know the truth in that better than the Lance Corporal!"

"It is true that their debts are honored, but it is likely that-his words to the contrary aside-a Vampire of his age knows how to use the help he already gave us to circumvent further aid." Gunther pointed out grimly. "They tend to be willy in that fashion; their aid a Devil's promise. Always with a sting in its tail."

"But we have to hold out hope, don't we?"

"What we have to do is face reality." Eld said. "This…is very bad. It's likely that, if any of us come out of this alive, it won't be in one piece."

"So you're all going to side against me then?" she snapped, angry tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "He's stronger than this, we all know that! We have to believe that he'll heal! That he'll get us out of this like he always has before!"

"We aren't like them, Petra. We aren't immortal." His voice was badly broken and barely audible over the clopping of the horse's hooves and the uneven rolling of the wheels against the rutted streets, but the other four still heard it and immediately fell silent to look at him. "They're right in telling you to face the facts; the truth that, with these wounds, I'm not going to come out of this. Even with the best medical care available to either side, my death would only be delayed."

"Don't talk like that! We'll find a way; you've been injured before! We need you too badly for you to just…give up." They were more than just a squad of soldiers; all of them had lost everything, and bonded on the field of battle. He was a brother to her. A father, in some respects. Any one of them would fight like hell for the sake of any of the others, this he understood. But he also understood that in this case it was nothing more than a waste of strength that she would need soon enough.

"Death is something that we all accept-all meet with-when we put on that mantle. When we bare the Wings of Heaven-Humanities last hope-we accept that a target has been hung around our necks. No one, regardless of skill, is invincible on the field of battle; in war we are all the same. Mortality is just another part of being human. In a way, it's a part of what we fight for."

"So, what, we should just give up hope?"

He tried to shake his head but that required too much energy, so he closed his eyes instead. "No, that isn't what I'm saying. What I am saying is that Eren may still come for us; he may be a Vampire, but his isn't omniscient. It will take a while for word of our fate to get back to him, and longer still for something to be done. And even if he doesn't come, Erwin will. The Commander wouldn't leave us to a fate like this. But, either way, whatever source it comes from, help will be too late for me. You must all be prepared to leave their custody without me."

It looked as if she wanted to continue protesting, but Petra seemed physically unable to find the necessary words. Silence fell, and persisted unbroken for quite a while before it was finally broken by Eld.

"If I may ask, Lance Corporal, just how long have you been awake?"

For a few moments it seemed as if he might not answer, then he finally said with a heavy sigh "more than long enough."

The cart traveled through the night, and by the time they reached the capital city of Karabor the first rays of dawn had left pink slashes in the sky. Needless to say that the guards were in quite a hurry to reach safety; they were unceremoniously shoved into a filthy cell and left. No food or water came for an entire day, and when it finally did it was rancid. The cell was cold, the lone thread bare blanket given to their badly wounded squad leader whose condition worsened with each day. He was conscious less and less, his verbal responses to their attempts to rouse him growing shorter and shorter in length until, finally, he could no longer speak at all. The wound had turned a sickly shade of blackish-green, badly infected and smelling of rotting flesh. Levi still had the fortitude to cling just barely to life, but his body was crumbling around him. Agony had devoured him, and now nothing was left but a numb detachment. And that was perhaps the worst torture of all. So when the guards finally came around, the part of him that had given up fighting, that one small part of him that had never been a warrior, that long ago had curled up in a dark corner to hide from the world, was relieved that it was all finally over.

"We're here for your 'Corporal'." One sneered, slurring the word as if it were some sort of curse. Petra, exhausted by the ordeal but still bristling, immediately stepped protectively in front of him but the bastard just pushed her slight form out of his way; thankfully Eld caught her and held her back.

"No, don't touch him! Leave him alone!" But they ignored her cries. Enormous cold paws grabbed hold of him, yanking him to his feet and pushing him forwards. His legs did nothing, dead limbs with no other power than to collapse beneath him, and he collapsed helplessly to lay face down on the floor. "He can't even walk! And this was once the best that the scouts had to offer? Pathetic!" This time his captor's hold came down on the back of his neck, dragging him across the uneven dungeon floor and out into the cold, clear night. There was a full moon that night, its chill rays falling down on him and onto the gathered crowd. They parted before the guards that held him, fearful and whispering. All human slaves, he realized, likely told of who he was and what he had done to them now forced to watch him die. The steps up to the raised wooden platform were weather beaten and worn, splinters digging into his flesh as he was dragged up them; just one more thing to add to the suffering that was soon to end. He was passed to his executioner who grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back, the cold metal flat of the enormous knife sliding along his exposed throat. He could barely see her through the darkness; a woman dressed in black with short dark hair. The only splash of color on her person was the red scarf that concealed the lower part of her face and the powder-white mask that covered the upper portion.

"Do it!" The Reiner barked at her from where he stood nearby, the only one of the Council who had bothered to come and watch.

"My pleasure." To his complete and utter shock his supposed executioner released him, then turned and drove the knife into the other's chest. A roar of rage exploded from the blonde, who ripped out the knife that had fallen just short of its mark and lunged for her. She managed to dodge his strike but the wooden mask was not so lucky; it fell away in broken pieces to reveal the delicate features of her face.

"_Bitch! I should have known it was you!" _A second knife was drawn from its place concealed within her clothing, catching the male who was close to twice her size beneath the eye and sending him reeling backwards and then a smoke bomb exploded, the thick white haze choking the air and making it hard to breathe. He was kicked off the stage, tumbling down to land painfully on the cold ground ten feet below stunned and confused.

"Marco!" The woman called as the other Vampire came at her again. "Grab him! Get to Armin; his condition is severe!" And then a second masked figure materialized out of the smoke beside him, pulling him up onto his shoulders and launching them both into the air. The smoke had climbed to at least 20 feet in the air, and once they had cleared it he couldn't see anything left within the cloud. The air was much easier on his lungs and cooled his skin against the fever that he'd taken. He didn't know exactly how long it was that the flight lasted, but it didn't seem more than a handful of minutes after leaving the scene of chaos behind that they descending into a forest of towering trees much like the one the scouts had held as a bastion for many years, only this one was much darker. Likely, even in the height of the day, no sunlight ever reached below the canopy. He was set down-from what he could tell with almost all feeling gone-gently on the damp forest floor only to have a third Vampire, this one not wearing a mask, appear out of the shadows. Male, small of stature at near to his own height and rather fragile in appearance he had blonde hair and blue eyes that held a spark of undeniable intelligence.

"How bad is it?" The Vampire that had flown him there-Marco-asked; he'd removed his mask, revealing brown eyes and a freckled face.

"Dire; they gave him no medical attention at all, and because of that his wounds are infected with necrotizing bacteria that's eating him alive!" The blonde one said, looking more than a little bit troubled. "3rd degree burns over 75% of his body, internal injuries, broken bones. I'm shocked he's still alive; these wounds, by all rights, should have killed him instantly."

"Strong and stubborn. Sounds like Eren."

"Yeah, it does. I can understand why he's interested in this human. Perhaps for reasons aside from his ability."

"How much of a chance is it that he'll make it until we reach him?"

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% and dropping fast."

"And there's nothing you can do? Even with your abilities, Armin?"

He shook his head sadly. "If there was I'd do it, you know that. The other council members declared war on our family when they tried to murder Eren, and we _need _this man's aid but…if we're even to have him speak to Eren before he dies we need to move him. Now. It's still a 4 hour trek to the heart of the forest, and it's too risky to fly with them looking for us."

"What about Mikasa?" so that was the woman's name.

"Believe me, she'll be fine on her own." Armin replied. "Help me move him; his back is badly broken, and if I try to move him on my own I'll only do more damage. Grab his legs."

Obeying his request, Marco grabbed his ankles and helped him transport Levi onto another cart this one lined with blankets in an attempt-however feeble-to make more comfortable. The snort of a horse and the jerk of the wheels and then they were moving again. They were taking him to Eren; they were members of his Coven. The brat had sent help after all. He tried to hold on, he really did, all for the sake of seeing those eyes once more, but he was so tired. His body falling apart in shambles around him. In the end, the effort to keep breathing became too much.

Impatient was one way to describe the state that Eren was in as he waited in the safety of his Coven's hide away in the Eventide Redoubt. Excitable, in a nervous way, was another. He'd equate it to something rather close to a child on Christmas morning, but considering the life and death connotations of the situation that seemed rather inappropriate. He'd been straining his ears for the smallest sound for what felt like hours when he finally heard the cart trundling up the uneven surface of the hidden path and rushed outside just as the cart emerged from the tree line.

"Eren!" Armin called to him as he ran over. "I'm sorry; there was nothing we could do."

"Is he still alive?" he demanded, rounding the back of the cart. But once he looked he knew. The motionless form inside, disfigured and broken, was quite clearly dead. "How long?"

"Within the hour," Marco told him. "He fought but…he was human."

"Where's Mikasa?"

"She had to run interference on Reiner and some of his goons. Said that she would catch up with us once she'd lost them."

He nodded, gathering the body up in his arms and lifting it out of the cart. "Send her in to me once she returns; my sister and I have a great deal to speak of."

"We will," Armin promised. "Eren, what are you planning to do with him?"

"That ought to be obvious to one who has known me for as long as you have. Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman is our sole existing link to the Scouts; to achieve my goals we'll need his help in negotiating with Erwin Smith. If he's dead, that can't happen."

"You're going to turn him?" Marco actually sounded shocked. "Isn't that dangerous; we've no idea how someone like him will react to waking up as one of us."

"We don't have any other choices left to us, Bodt. And I intend to act while there is still time."

"If it's what you believe to be the best recourse, then we aren't about to disagree with you. You're our leader, after all, and have never once in all your years led us astray."

"Your faith in me will certainly make the dark days to come easier." But as he walked into the Coven house he couldn't help but wonder if their trust in him might one day get them all killed. He was shrewd, sure. Crazy like a fox. And also very powerful, as all the members of the Council were. But a recklessness to match knocked his threat up a few pegs, and his ability to fend off those whose toes he'd so flippantly stepped on down. All in all, a bad combination. The inside of the house was unusually quiet for the time of night that it was; the majority of the others were still out, so there was no one a question him on what he was doing as he made his way through the halls to an unused room where he lay him down on the dusty floor boards. The wounds truly were terrible, and had he not known as much as he did of the extent to which his bite could save Eren would have had serious doubts about his chances of success. Being sure to drench his fangs in a liberal amount of venom he sank them into the first patch of undamaged skin he could find, driving them deeper with a slight chewing motion like the bite of a snake until satisfied that it was deep enough. He drew back, than poured a mixture of deer's blood and more venom down his throat. _Nothing left to do but wait; it's up to him now._ He was quite sure in his belief that no living creature truly wanted to die, and knew that any chance to escape from death would be ceased upon without much second thought. His continued cooperation, however, was not so easily guaranteed. Eren knew that he'd have to dig in his heels and buckle down, because he was in for one hell of a fight.


	3. Chapter 3

_Where am I?_ It was cold. So incredibly cold. All around him, surrounding him on all sides, entombing him, was ice. Every breath was agony, the jagged ice crystals clotting his lungs laying into his flesh until he was drowning in his own blood. He couldn't move. Couldn't escape. But still he struggled until his strength gave out and them he lay there. Lay there as frost bite blazed a path across his flesh, leaving it stained a horrifying purple-black. It hurt. It hurt so badly; a pain the likes of which he had never felt before in all his life, be it beneath the Vampire's lash or the flames of the cannon fire that had ultimately taken his life. _I'm…dead?_ Yes, that was right. He remembered now. He'd been rescued by his enemy though for what reason he couldn't recall, but in the end their efforts had been in vain. He'd tried to hold on, but he'd been so incredibly tired. He'd wanted to see…something again, but for the life of him he couldn't think of what. _A…color?_ A mix of blue and green; teal was the only word he had for it, though it far from did the color justice. _No, it was more than a color. _A stone then? Perhaps inset into a piece of jewelry? Had it been a person, perhaps a woman, that he had wanted to see again? _No, they were eyes. _Eyes that belonged to a man. To a Vampire. _Eren._ He felt the ice withdraw slightly, its hold weakening. Seizing his chance, he gathered together all of his strength into one all mighty thrash. The ice parted with the sound of a shattering glacier, and then he was rocketing upwards through a dark tunnel on a pair of wings rapidly burning away to nothing. A bright warm light surrounded him, and the next thing he knew he was sitting up in bed. The blinding flash slowly waned away to the gentle flickering light of the wax candles that lined the walls as his suddenly extremely sensitive vision adjusted itself to the lighting. He was sitting on an unfamiliar-and from the look of it not often used-bed in an unfamiliar room that-if the wooden walls were anything to go by-was a part of a house or other building rather than a flimsy tent the like of which the Scouts called home. And that meant that it had not been Hanji-with her crazy cures and nonsensical science-that had pulled him from the arctic talons of death. There were so many new scents surrounding him, their intensity causing starbursts of vivid color to burst before his eyes; the sap of the trees outside, the night mist forming over the surface of a nearby pond, the buried hoard for a squirrel. The sounds of the night were all but deafening to his ears; the careful tip toes of a deer sounded like the crashing of a herd of elephants, the wing beats of an owl like a raging hurricane, the feet of a mouse scampering within the nearby wall like nails on a chalkboard. Then his mind finally clicked over; such sharp senses were not normal. Quickly reaching up a hand to his face he quickly realized that not only was the burn gone without a trace but the skin was cold as death. And then he noticed the raging thirst that, to his utter horror, confirmed that his lifelong worst nightmare had become reality.

"Ah, you're finally awake Levi." That voice. He knew that voice. Hissing in absolute fury, he coiled his body into a feline crouch and launched himself at the other whose presence he had only just noticed in the room.

"Bastard!" He snarled, lashing out with the claws that the transformation had granted him; Eren, much to his sky rocketing rage, didn't even bother with a proper dodge. He simply stepped back so that he was just out of range, allowing Levi's strike-with far more strength behind it than he could effectively control-off balanced him, sending the former soldier sprawling. "What the fuck have you done to me?" he snarled, pulling himself up onto all fours. "Who the hell gave you the right!"

"You did, through the debt to you I owed that is now repaid." Had he not been so busy seeing red, Levi might have noticed that the bloodstone ring had been returned to its place on its rightful owner's finger. "An elevated existence was the only way to salvage you by the time that you were brought to me."

"An elevated existence? Is that what you consider this curse?" He didn't care that he was truly acting like a thoughtless beast, didn't care that his body was no reacting to his brain's commands in ways that he couldn't quite control yet, didn't care what the overall consequences of his actions would be. He'd kill him! He'd rip out the bastard's heart and crush it in his fist for what he'd done to him! Over power him, beat him to a pulp and then rectify the wrong done in freeing him that day. Or so he would have liked to think. Eren moved too quickly even for his new vision to follow; he was kneeling on his back, keeping him pinned to the ground with one knee, and pulled his head back by the hair.

"This can be either a curse or a gift; it is only what you make of it, Lance Corporal. I have granted you access to boundless powers, it is now your choice to either use them or squander this precious second life so graciously given." He allowed Levi to shake himself free and escape to the opposite side of the room without too great a deal of effort on his part; it was obvious to both of them that, in his current state, he posed no threat to the elder Vampire. "If you wish to leave, I will not stop you Levi. But know this; if you truly wish to play a continued part in the fight for mankind's emancipation from the Lords of the Night, you'll accept that this is your fate." The only answer he received was a snarl before the other slipped out the open window and disappeared. Alone, Eren calmly proceeded to his own room to prepare himself a blood cocktail and wait; he was only a third of the way through it before the knock came on his bedroom door. "You're back at last."

The old, unoiled hinges creaked as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. "I know that it took longer than anticipated, but Reiner was more persistent than I thought he would be."

"Expect, and prepare, for the unexpected. Don't worry over it Mikasa; luckily, nothing was affected by your absence." Sitting up, he motioned for her to come and sit beside him on the bed; she wasted no time in obeying that request. "How did you eventually manage to get away?"

"The first few Blood Tear bombs he could withstand. The second few, not so much."

Blood Tear bombs; a form of specialty smoke grenades that, when activated, released a red-hued haze that caused temporary blindness, loss of scent and a highly painful rash. Something they had repeated exposed themselves to until it no longer had any effect on them. "Be sure to restock before you next run out. You may want to take the Nightshade too; Nepenthe will be useful, considering we will likely be coming into contact with the Scouts and want to avoid harming them if possible."

"Speaking of the Scouts," she said, "what became of him?"

"He died. Before they reached here."

"I'm sorry, Eren. I know that you-."

"I turned him; as I expected, he was…upset once he figured out what had happened."

"Where is he now?"

Eren shrugged, taking another sip of the drink that he'd been nursing. "Don't know, he ran off."

"And you just let him go?" she sounded surprised.

"He'll return of his own accord once he is ready to. It is best to allow him to sort himself out; to come to terms with the loss of his former life."

"If you really think that's for the best."

"I do," he replied. "Now we must be patient. Levi will come back to us soon enough."

The darkness that would once have left him blind now steeped the forest around him in shades of violet and blue and black. The wind, howling in his face as he raced over the ground with newfound speed, formerly enough to chill him now felt mild, even pleasant against his skin. He could hear it, just up ahead; the silver sound of a trickling stream. Water. Something with which to put out the fire raging in his throat. The pebbled bank gave way beneath his hurried footsteps, but the grace he'd gained prevented him from toppling over as he ran to the water's edge and fell to his knees. Desperate for a drink he plunged his face into the water on all fours without caring if it was clean, drinking to and past the point where the instinct left over from being Human screamed at him for un-needed breath. Drank until he was sick with it and the water that he swallowed just came right back up and still the thirst-the lust-would not go away. He'd never been the most pleased with himself or with his circumstances, but until now self-hatred had never crossed his mind. Until now he hadn't truly been a monster. The stones of the bank, digging into his knees. Jagged and sharp…like a knife. He'd snatched one up in his hand before he'd fully realized it, pressing the tip into his wrist until he drew blood. Blood. Dark scarlet, thick and slow flowing. It was beautiful in a way that he'd never noticed before as it oozed sluggishly down the ivory skin of the inside of his wrist like droplets of liquid garnet. The wound had not been deep to begin with-the sight and scent of his own blood had distracted him almost instantly-and was already closed, not that he noticed. It were almost as if he were moving through a dream; what he was doing wasn't fully in his control even as he went through the motions, raising the injured wrist to his lips and licking the crimson trail away. He'd never tasted anything more delicious; for a moment the fire died down, only to flare up once more even stronger than before as he came back to his dismal reality. His reflection, staring up at him in the rippling water; fangs protruding with hunger and eyes glowing red. 'It can be either gift or curse; what matters is what you make of it.' The words of the other echoing in his head. He sighed. _This is what I am now. I can't run from it, and clearly killing myself isn't an option. _The house, not far away surely. If only he could manage to find his way back. _I've been turned into a monster, but…perhaps this can be turned to my advantage. Perhaps I can still do something to help my former cause. _Now that he had become a Vampire the knowledge of the proper use of his body had all but completely escaped him, but should he go back and receive training he'd be soon to regain that knowledge. And then he could use it against them. And if they killed him in the process all the better. There was no point in wasting time in enacting his plan; pulling himself to his feet off of the muddy bank, he did the best that he could to find his way back through the darkness.

_ "Witch eyes!"_

_ "Freak!"_

_ "Monster!"_

_ Fat, bitter tears spilling from his eyes to leave silvery track marks down his face as he scrubbed at the black eye that he'd been given with the back of his hand and whimpered quietly._

_ "M-Mommy," he sniffled, "why does everyone in the village hate me? What have I done wrong?"_

_ His mother, soothing him as always by running her fingers through his messy brown hair, pulled him into her warm embrace. "You didn't do anything, baby. This isn't your fault. They don't understand that you are something beautiful, and they fear what they don't understand._

The clattering of the old windowsill was what roused him from the painful memories of his now very distant past. Opening his eyes, he turned his head to look just as Levi dropped down off the sill.

"I knew that you'd come back, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." He said quietly, sitting up. "Come to terms with your fate?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" he grunted, refusing to meet his eyes. From what he knew of the man, and his gift of reading emotions and minds, Eren could sense that the truth of the matter just wasn't that simple. But he was prepared to allow it to slide. For now. So rather than push further, he smiled and motioned him over.

"Come here." A moment's hesitance before reluctant compliance. "Water doesn't quite cut it anymore, now does it?" Did he know? Had he perhaps had him followed? Or was there some connection forged between them by the other's venom that he had yet to become aware of? Eren simply smiled again and allowed the mystery to persist. "You need to feed; mind you blood won't make it go away, but it will certainly take the edge off."

"I'm not touching a human!" He spat, but Eren just waved the suggestion off.

"Sober Coven, remember? We don't drink human blood. But with the state you're in, and all you've been through, you'll need something with more kick that deer blood can provide. You'll drink mine tonight." Eren began to fiddle with the ring on his finger in a seemingly off hand manner. "You know what a blood mark is, yes?" Rings worn by some Vampires for use in feeding; a spine would pop out of the band if the correct actions were taken, eliminating the need for fangs. The use of them was normally reserved for occasions when mates fed on each other as a curtesy as it lessened the risk of leaving a scar, but he'd been on the receiving end more than once and the familiar metallic sound of it snapping out made him shudder. If the other noticed that it made him nervous he didn't comment; when he tilted his head back Levi found his eyes drawn to the arch formed by his neck as if by a magnet. Raising the ring and pressing the barb against his flesh, Eren slit his throat with a slow, almost languid motion. No hesitation was involved; he was like a shark smelling blood in the water. His mouth closed around the wound and instinct took over, slurping sounds that were really quite distasteful beginning to ring out through the room as he tried to get at more of the precious fluid even as it spilled into his mouth. He'd tasted a few drops of his own blood earlier in the night, but there was just something about Eren…his blood, hell his skin was sweet! He pulled him closer, crushing his body against his own in an effort to find better purchase, hearing cuing in on the wet thudding of his heart as he lost himself in the drug-high ecstasy of the other's taste and all the while Eren waited patiently until he'd had his fill. Once finally able to tear himself away Levi quickly put some distance between himself and the now even more alluring brunet. Wiping the remaining blood from where it had dripped down over his collar bone with his thumb, Eren stood up as well. "Walk with me; there is much I have to tell you." Without bothering to wait and see if Levi was indeed behind him he exited the room and set off down the hallways; however difficult it may eventually come to be compliance was a necessary part of his plan, so the ex-Lance Corporal wasted no time in following on his heels. "This is the Eventide Redoubt; the home of my Coven when our presence is not required in the Capital. The ancestral home of my family going back a generation; it was my father's before it was mine, and all that I have left of him now that my title is gone. He's been dead for…somewhere close to 4000 years now, I think." 4000 years? But Humanities first known contact with the Vampires had been only 2000 years ago. Just how long had these monsters existed? "I know it must seem odd to you that, despite having the remaining three Council Members out for our blood, we still see no problem in living in a place that they have full knowledge of."

"Well, the old adage 'hiding in plain sight' comes to mind." Levi replied. "Though it seems rather foolish of you to rely on it."

"We aren't." Eren told him, pushing open the front door to clear the way for them to walk outside. With the canopy above their heads completely obscuring the sky it was impossible for him to tell what time it was, but the air was slightly warmer than it had been previously leading him to suspect that it was now some point in the day. He was lead down a small footpath to a large pond, sending droves of frogs fleeing from the banks into the dark water at the sight of them. The reeds growing in the murky shallows clattered together softly in the gentle wind as strange, glowing flowers woven in amongst the trees lit the darkness like artificial stars. "This forest is very old; it grew here on a large ley line over 100,000 years ago when the earth itself was very young."

A…leyline?" that was one term he'd never heard before.

"They occur naturally in certain places across the world; flowing longitudinally with the earth, they represent…a rip in the veil of sorts. Places where things that aren't otherwise possible have the potential to happen on a daily basis. Places where those like Armin, Magisters, find their powers substantially boosted as mana and magic are more easily shaped and tapped on and around them. We've turned this one to our advantage. The forest protects us; the trees themselves are alive. Possessed of a unique form of sentience that is…rather difficult to understand. Their magic shrouds this place, seeing to it that both sunlight and those who would mean us harm never reach the forest heart. They simply find themselves…walking in endless circles." For a moment, he smiled. "The earth itself is one of our greatest allies, but we can speak more on that subject later should you wish to; on with my tale." They continued walking, leaving the pond behind and venturing once more along a path towards what was, to Levi, an unknown destination. "Vampires have not always had contact with Humans, but our time amongst your kind goes back much further than any of you are aware. The earliest annals of our history tell a story that goes something like this; the first of us were the direct sons of Esus, our Blood God the practice of whose worship has long died out. That each of us still carry his blood in our veins, and as such are above 'mere lesser mortals'. That is what many of us feel to be justification for enslaving the Human race. We lived on a lush and verdant continent in cities that were advanced beyond the scope of your wildest imagination with science and magic. We lived in peace secreted away amidst ourselves, content in the perceived power provided to us by our isolation and belief that we were deities on earth…until the day our homeland was swallowed by the sea. Half of our population was wiped out in night, those that survived escaped to the next nearest landmass that they could find. Contact with humanity was now eminent. Mind you that this was around 50,000 years ago, 10,000 years before I was even born. And no one left alive remembers it." 50,000 years the bastards had been living amongst them, and for 48,000 of them they hadn't had a clue. How much had they done? How much of history had been affected by their presence? Wait a minute, Eren was 40,000 years old? "I was born in a small village called Rantal in a country that has since been renamed and reshaped many countless times but was then known as Pieta. Mikasa was my sister by adoption; we took her in after she was orphaned by…violence. Armin was the only friend that I had in that village. My mother was human, my father absent and-though at the time I didn't know it-a Vampire. Because of that, the other villagers hated us. I was ostracized by the children. Tormented by the adults. Called Demon by the church that was so precious to humans at the time. It was a hell of a life, but my mother always knew just what to do to make it all go away. Despite all the horror that I was put through I loved living because of her. She was my world. Until that day, when I was 10 years old. When she was murdered." For a moment visible pain flashed across his features, but then he composed himself and continued. "For days we lived in fear, terrified the other villagers would kill us too. On the night that the three of us came to the decision to flee, we returned to my home to find my father waiting. Grisha Yeager, a member of the Blood Council and one of the last descendants of those who had made the swim from our lost lands. He took us in and raised us for five more years. Then, when we what was at that time considered of age at 15, turned us and introduced us into Vampire society. Groomed me to eventually take his place. But, because of my views on humanity and my…less than desirable lineage I never did command the same respect as the other Council Members. Back then there was somewhere close to 40 of us on the Council, but over the years, through the process of volatile alliances and political backstabbing by your time that number was reduced to 4. Had your squad not freed me I'm sure their efforts to cut it to 3 would have succeeded, and I fear that the murder game will continue into one is left to rule unchallenged." Eren shook his head and sighed. "It is time for us to face the facts; as time goes on all that we do is fall further and further from our once Grace. Even as we struggle to maintain our hold upon the iron yolk to which we've shackled humanity our own society spirals downwards towards disaster! We are headed towards a _reckoning_, and I fear that my coven and I are the only ones who see it!" The house came into view as their circular trek ended; once more, he stopped forcing Levi to do the same. "Levi, I understand that you have no love for my people and with all that you have been through I can expect no less, but allow me to ask you this. I know the Scouts fight against us because they believe that Vampires do not have the right to drive Humanity to extinction. By the other side of that very same coin, what right does Humanity have to do the same to us? We truly need your help; your connection to the Scouts is the only real chance we have of making Erwin listen! My plan will, of course, require a bit of tweaking considering that he is less likely to be receptive of your message now that you are one of us, but that is a matter for you to worry over after your training…provided you are willing. You will help us, won't you?"

Eyes wide and pleading, again with that same innocence he'd used to trick him then; even if he was making another attempt to con him, he'd no idea that avenue that he'd left open for him. Levi allowed a dangerous smile to crawl onto his face, a rare break of emotion through his usual stoic composure. "Sure, just tell me what I can do to help." Yes, make them trust him. All the better for when he finally decided to act.


	4. Note

**Sorry guys; not really an update. Just letting you all know that this story is going on hiatus; I'm not abandoning it as i love the concept and want to do something with it, but the current plot line has simply peetered out and died. Therefore I will be starting over from the beginning with a slight adaptation of the original story line that will hopefully turn out better, and once i've gotten that finished I'll be taking the old copy down and retitling the new version Winter's Wrath. Thank you all so much for your patience; i'll do the best that i can to see that this project is finished quickly.**


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